Unseen
by annaliesegrace
Summary: It happened between them in the background of thier jobs. A series of events that bring Steve and Kono closer to each other.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Unseen

Author: Annaliesegrace

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Hawaii 5-0 does not belong to me, though I wish Alex O sure did.

AN: Hello, readers. While I have written much for NCIS:LA, I am a first time H50 writer. I just got so…irritated about how they wrote Steve/Kono and their interactions earlier this season that I felt I had to write something to explain their behavior (as in, they never mentioned each other, at all). I read something from one of the producers that not everything is seen "onscreen", and that things happen but we don't see them. Great, but they couldn't at least do a throwaway line from Steve that he tried to contact her or…something. Anyway, I've rambled on long enough about that.

AN2: Those who followed from LA, I am still working on the fill in for The Call, but got stuck and had to get this out of my head first. It will happen.

Please enjoy and leave a review on the way out, it is always appreciated.

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><p>Surfing had always been an escape for her, a way to forget the day's troubles and focus on something else. Even after she had blown her knee out and knew that competitive surfing was no longer in her future, Kono had loved going out to the ocean and feeling the power of the waves. Of riding that power until she was so amped up it felt like she could take on the world. There was just something about the sun at her back, the water under her and corralling nature that was better than drugs. Maybe surfing was her drug.<p>

It kept her sane at the most insane times of her life, and this was certainly no exception. If possible this was _the most_ insane time of her life, and that included the period after her surfing career was officially over and she was contemplating the rest of her life.

So as she returned to her small house from the beach, she sighed and mumbled "son of a bitch" under her breath.

Because standing on her porch was none other than her (former) boss, Steve McGarrett.

And his expression was what Danny would so charitably call his "aneurysm face". Only as she approached she realized it was less "aneurysm" and more furious.

It had been two weeks since the news conference announcing her removal from 5-0 and subsequent investigation by IA for theft. And for two weeks she had successfully avoided both calls and visits from Steve. While she tried to push Chin away, her cousin was persistent, but that would be expected from family, so his frequent visits did not raise flags with Delano. McGarrett, however, too many visits from him might cause unwanted attention.

So she ignored his calls and didn't answer when he rang her bell. Unfortunately he was more determined than she gave him credit for and she concluded it was probably better to get this over with then continue the avoidance game.

Steeling herself to push him away as she had done with Chin, Kono took the last couple steps onto the porch and without acknowledging his presence, unlocked the front door and stepped in, placing the board just inside the door. While she didn't expressly invite him in, Kono left the door open and, unsurprisingly, he walked in, closing the door behind him a little more forcefully then was strictly necessary.

Continuing to ignore him, she walked to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of water, quickly opening it and downing half the contents (she was always thirsty after surfing). Only then did she look at him and a pang of guilt (or maybe regret) settled into her stomach at his face. Which was still furious, but also held confusion and maybe a little guilt.

"What the hell are you doing?" he finally asked in that tone he usually reserved for interrogations and yeah, it sucked being on this side of McGarrett's questioning.

"Well, hello to you too," she started snippily, using the same tone on him she had on Chin. "It's been a couple weeks, howzit goin?"

He advanced on her. "Kono, I'm going to ask again. What the hell are you doing?"

"Currently? Getting yelled at by my former boss; former being the operative word here. Which makes this conversation a little confusing, really. I wasn't aware you cared." Oh, she was aware, what with his at least one phone call a day habit.

He softened, but just barely. "You know I care, Kono. Which is why I've been calling you for two weeks. Then I find out from Chin you've been hanging out with Frank Delano and his crew? What are you doing?"

She shrugged and finished off the water. "Hanging with my kind, I guess."

Now he ran his fingers through his hair and clenched his fists as they returned to his side and Kono was reminded how imposing her boss could be when needed. And now he was turning it on her. The only problem was she knew him, the real him and the imposing game…it didn't work as well. "You're kind? These are criminals, Kono!"

"Maybe you missed the memo, _Steve," _she put special emphasis on his name. "But so am I, just ask IA."

"IA is full of shit and you know it."

Now it was her turn to turn on the anger and she approached him. "But they aren't, and we both know it. I _did _what they are accusing me of, Steve. I took that money, we both did. But I'm the only one with IA all over my ass."

And for the first time since she had met him, Kono watched Steve falter just slightly; she had used what she knew of Steve McGarrett against him. He was the kind of guy who was fiercely protective of those close to him, his team at the top of that list, and she knew the fact that he had gotten away with it while she took the punishment was probably silently eating away at him. The look on his face as she levied the accusation confirmed it for her.

"Kono…" he started softly and again closed the distance between them. "I'm sorry."

Oh God, this was killing her, lying to him. Almost as much as lying to Chin, which surprised her more than anything. This man was her boss and probably would be considered a friend, but her guilt surpassed that of lying to a friend. It felt like lying to someone you cared deeply for and panic built in her chest as he reached out and grasped her shoulder gently, fingers hot on her exposed skin.

So she struggled to gain control of this, and while she wanted to say "nothing to be sorry for, it was my idea, I took the risk" instead her response was sharp, cutting, as she pulled away from his touch. "Sorry doesn't cut it, not when my career is toast, and my name has been put out there as a dirty cop. Not when you get to go back to being Commander McGarrett and I get meetings with IA." Her voice started to rise. "Not when you move on and I'm left behind."

There was a certain amount of truth to her words and that stung more than she expected, the realization that they _had _moved on without her. "So excuse me if I find people like me to hang with, people who were thrown away. I've got a lot of time on my hands these days."

"Kono, I-"

She had to stop him, if he kept pressing; kept looking at her with that soft, pleading expression she would cave. Which would completely ruin any chance she had of returning to them (him), and only make it worse by putting Steve and the rest of them in range of IA as well. Fryer's instructions were clear, 5-0 was _not _to know what she was doing, Kono wasn't an idiot, she knew why, McGarrett would protest and protest loudly at using her for bait and then probably take over. So while her heart clenched a little tighter she stood straight up and stared him down.

"Please leave," she stated simply and watched his slate blue eyes narrow at her, that laser focus on her and yeah, this was an incredibly uncomfortable place to be. Despite her request he continued to stand in her kitchen, feet away from her, clearly thinking this through, weighing his options. Something she knew his SEAL training allowed him to do in seconds. And Kono wanted to remove his options, not allow him to think about it.

"Steve…please-" she started again and stepped back from him, but before she could go far he reached out and grasped her wrist lightly, holding her in place.

First she looked down at his hand, wrapped around her small wrist and she could feel her heart pounding at his nearness. The feeling was confusing and she wasn't sure what to make of it.

Then he leaned in toward her, those blue eyes never leaving hers. "If you _ever_ need anything; if you're in too deep and can't figure out how to get out, call me, ok? Anytime."

"I know what I'm doing Boss - Steve." Kono flinched at the use of "Boss", but quickly recovered, pulling her hand away and crossing her arms.

Clearly startled by her choice of words, he pulled back and searched her face, Kono tried to keep it impassive, expressionless, but something must have given her away as he backed up, nodding with some kind of understanding. "I hope you do."

"I do…" she all but whispered. "But now I think you need to leave. And not come back or call me. There is nothing for us to talk about anymore."

Again he nodded and moved toward the door, calling out "offer stands" as he closed the door behind him, leaving her standing in her kitchen seriously regretting ever accepting Fryers offer.

* * *

><p>If having Steve in her kitchen staring her down was bad, sitting in that blue tinged fucking interrogation room with him questioning her about finding her driving around with a dead body was just this side of hell.<p>

And despite his pleading, his begging, she remained completely silent. Because what the hell was she _supposed _to say? This undercover was quickly starting to unravel in front of her and she had absolutely no idea what to do except hope that Fryer got word she had been taken in by 5-0. And she nearly laughed aloud at the idea that she was relying on _IA _to rescue her from her former teammates. Just one of many things that were completely wrong in her life right now.

So she remained silent and watched as Steve went from confused to angry at her (not the first time in recent memory for sure) before finally giving up and departing the room with an annoyed huff, leaving Chin to finish what he clearly couldn't.

It wasn't too long after that Fryer arrived and spilled the beans to Steve and Chin, reading them in on the whole mess. And while explaining herself to Chin had been hard enough, the screaming match Steve had gotten into with Fryer regarding her was worse. Never had she been so happy to have Delano call her phone before, it had forced a cease fire and a temporary allegiance.

After arranging the meet, the group started to leave the small room, Fryer first followed by Chin, before Kono could reach the threshold, a strong hand on her upper arm stopped her and she turned to see Steve looking at her with an expression she couldn't define.

When he realized she wasn't following, Chin turned around only to be waved off with a look from Steve. Chin gave Kono a sympathetic look before disappearing around the corner.

Steeling herself, she turned to face Steve, who was pacing the small room.

This was gonna be bad. Real bad.

After he stopped pacing not far from her, Steve ran a hand through his hair before speaking, "You could have told me."

She shook her head. "No, I couldn't."

"This was…too much for you. An undercover assignment with no backup…"

"Fryer was my backup."

His eyes narrowed at her and she resisted the urge to step back. "Did he have your back every time you were with Delano? Was he shadowing you those nights you spent out?"

"No," she admitted.

"Then he didn't have your back." Suddenly he went back to pacing, moving closer to her with every round.

"I had it under control," she finally said.

"Really? What about today Kono? Today we found you driving around with a _dead body in the car. _That doesn't seem very under control."

She faltered. "I don't…it went sideways so fast…"

"That's what tends to happen when you aren't prepared."

Now she bristled, was he actually questioning her abilities? "I was prepared, Steve. _I had it under control_ until today when Delano's man got shot. My cover is still intact." Her tone was icy.

"That's not…I don't mean you weren't prepared. I mean Fryer shouldn't have used you for this, you haven't done long term undercover work, it's hard, really hard. Especially when things go sideways."

There was silence as she stared at him, still irritated with his words, his implication that she couldn't handle the task.

Taking a few steps closer to her, he spoke again. "You wouldn't have been in that position if…"

Her voice softened. "That doesn't matter, Steve."

"It does to me…I never should have pulled all of you into my fight. It almost destroyed us."

"It _doesn't matter_ Steve…we're ohana, we would do anything for each other. Anything."

Now his hand ran over his face, frustration clear. "I didn't. I…didn't do anything for you."

"You tried, I pushed you and Chin and Danny away." She stepped closer now, grabbing his forearm. "Can we not…do this? I have to meet Delano in fifty minutes."

"You don't have to." His voice was soft, very un-Steve-like.

"I do and you know it." Now she gave him her brightest smile. "Besides, now I have you to watch my back, right?"

Suddenly his hand came up and clasped the juncture of her neck and shoulder gently, eyes boring into hers, pulling them closer than they probably should be. "Always."

For a long moment they stood there, eyes locked, body's inches away from each other, a distinct hum of…something between them. It was the same hum she had experienced with him before, when they exchanged glances or spent down time together with the team. It was weird, but not all that unwelcome.

They had shared looks before, many of them in fact, but usually from a distance, never this close. Never so close she could feel the heat from his body, the tension that radiated off every tightly wound muscle.

It was Kono who pulled away first, looking down as she did, suddenly uncomfortable. "I, uh…I have to go."

"Ok," he croaked out before clearing his throat and standing up and away from her. "Ok…meet you upstairs."

She just nodded and walked out the door, sparing him a quick glance before turning out of sight.

* * *

><p>Sitting in the back of the ambulance, an EMT patching up the bullet graze on her arm, Kono watched the chaos unfold around her. HPD and more ambulances and 5-0 were moving quickly around the area. From across the road, she locked eyes with Steve, giving him a small, tired, smile. His expression was one of concern and she brightened her smile slightly and nodded a signal that she was ok.<p>

It wasn't long after that that Steve made his point to IA by punching Fryer right in the jaw. His team was not to be messed with. And that team included her.

When her doorbell rang at nearly 10 pm that night, Kono wasn't entirely surprised to see Steve on the other side, a 6 pack of beer in hand as a peace offering. For a moment she eyed him warily before opening the door and letting him in. Quickly they settled on her couch, the evening news playing quietly in the background.

After opening them each a beer, Steve took a long drink before speaking. "You did good today."

"Thanks, Boss." She smiled a little on the 'boss' part.

"Can't you just call me Steve?"

She shrugged, "I like calling you Boss. Would you rather I called you Commander?"

The memory of Catherine calling him that stuttered through Steve's mind and he shook his head almost violently. There was something too similar about the way the women said it and he wasn't prepared to look at Kono the same way he did Catherine. At least, he knew he shouldn't look at her in the same manner. That didn't mean he was oblivious to the heat between them, even in the small doses it seemed to come in.

"Just…we're a _team _again; I don't see myself as your boss, but a colleague."

Taking a long drink of the beer she considered that. He thought of her as a colleague, not an underling; and she wasn't sure if she felt up to the task, he was a SEAL for the love of God. She was not even two years out of the academy.

"I don't know…your super SEAL training probably trumps what they give us in the academy." A sly grin crossed his face and she narrowed her eyes at him. "What?"

He grinned. "We can fix that, you know…"

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><p>This will be about 4-5 chapters and run closely to the show (as close as I can remember, I dont have them on the DVR anymore siiiigh), filling in the blanks as it were. And dont forget to leave a reivew, they really do inspire, especially a new writer.<p> 


	2. Lessons

Thank You so very much for the alerts and extra thanks to those that took the time to review. I don't think I've ever had so many alerts at one time, it was insane! But its reviews that fuel the soul, so feel free to leave one. I don't have time to respond to each review (I figure you'd rather have me use my limited time writing ), but know they are each appreciated greatly.

I must say I was rather pleased with Monday's episode and would like to state for not the last time that there is ZERO chemistry between Lori and Steve. It was painfully apparent in Mondays ep since Steve/Kono had a fair amount of screen time together. Now the producers/writers need to see it, and realize forcing chemistry doesn't work, especially when two of your leads already have it!

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><p>Chapter Two<p>

"This gun weighs as much as I do."

Steve eyed her then the large rifle she was carrying …uphill. "Close."

"So then I'm carrying it why?"

"Cause you're the one training. I'm supervising."

"Of course," she grumbled good naturedly and continued to the top of the hill. They were at the Navy yard, using their long range rifle course. After her statement that SEAL training was better than the Academy, Steve had gotten it into his head to give her an abbreviated version of his training in the Navy.

Long range rifle training was the first lesson. And apparently, carrying the rifle yourself was included, even if it did weigh as much as the person doing the carrying.

She watched as he considered the targets across the space before directing her where to set up. Efficiently she set up the weapon as he had already taught her and settled herself on her belly on the grass next to it.

Looking up, Kono would have sworn she caught him eyeing the long legs that were splayed out behind her and on display in shorts. But if he did the look was brief before he barked out an instruction to her to aim for a particular target.

Taking a deep breath and holding it, she looked through the scope, found the target, fired…and missed. Badly.

Popping her head up, she eyed the still intact target like it was the paper's fault she had missed.

"What the hell," she muttered while Steve chuckled a little.

"Different than shooting in the basement of HPD, huh?"

"Little bit, brah. I had it in the scope."

"Outside there are different conditions to be taken into account, wind, distance, height from the target." As he spoke, Steve kneeled on the ground to her left before leaning over her prone body and looking through the scope. As his abdomen brushed her back, Kono felt that blasted hum again. Even worse, as he resumed his kneeling position next to her Steve placed a warm hand on her lower back, and now the hum was more of a buzz and her head felt almost fuzzy, distracted.

"Relax," he practically whispered and his hand slid up her spine to rest between her shoulder blades, her ponytail just brushing his fingers where they laid just shy of her neck in direct contact with her skin. For a moment all she could focus on was him, the way his hand felt, the sound of his voice, low and melodic. The way her heart was starting to race as he moved even closer, leaning over to place his lips near her ear. "Close your eyes."

Slowly she fluttered her eyes closed.

"Good, now focus on the environment."

Shutting him out took effort but she concentrated on the feel of the sun on her skin, the sounds of the ocean not far away. Now she could feel the westerly winds she hadn't noticed before.

"Now, how far away is the target?" his voice was quiet in her ear.

"Seven hundred and fifty yards," she responded just as quietly.

"Good, wind?"

"West, maybe ten miles an hour."

"Visualize the bullets path; picture it hitting the target dead center." She felt him move and his hand left her back. "Now open your eyes, focus on the target and shoot again."

Following his instructions she opened her eyes and looked through the scope again, this time noting that the target was moving just slightly west to east. Taking another breath, she focused and got off her second shot, which was just left of dead center, tearing through the paper.

"Much better," he said in a normal tone of voice and stood up. "You only have seconds to get a shot off, but in that time you need to read the environment and make adjustments accordingly."

Looking up at him and squinting she smiled, "Again?"

"You bet," he smiled back.

* * *

><p>Leaning back in her chair, she let out a peal of laughter before covering her mouth quickly with her hand when she realized how loud it had been. Not that it mattered really; they were outside, near the beach so the sound was probably unnoticed by other patrons of the bar.<p>

"Sorry," she laughed and took a long drink of her beer. The joke had been at Danny's expense (as usual) and she had been unable to contain her laughter, and obviously neither could Steve because he was looking at her with a wide grin, the smile reaching his eyes. For a moment they shared the smile across the table and now that hum was starting up again but before it got out of control she looked away and instead caught her cousin's gaze. Who was regarding her with an expression she could only define as knowing, which confused her.

"So…how'd the training go?" Chin asked and looked pointedly at them.

"Training?" Danny popped up. "What training? Did I miss something?"

"It's nothing, brah. Boss man just took me to the Navy yard to work on long range shooting a little."

Suddenly Danny looked alarmed and his head swiveled between them. "What are you doing to her?" He was addressing Steve. "The last thing we need is another you running around this place, okay?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "It's just some training, Danno. Settle down."

Danny snorted. "Some training, huh? Next we know, Kono'll be hanging guys off roofs."

Catching Steve's eye, she winked before turning back to the haole. "That's next week."

Danny just sighed.

An hour later Chin was bidding goodbye, they had tried convincing him to stay, but the older man had begged off, Malia was expecting him. Danny chose then to depart as well, he had Grace the next day and they were getting an early start at the beach.

"Guess that leaves us, Boss."

Standing he moved over to the seat Danny had vacated next to her. "Guess so. You got plans tomorrow?"

"Nope, you?"

"Nope."

They fell into a comfortable silence, alternating between people watching at the bar and staring in the expanse of the ocean which was on glorious display because of a full moon that night.

After another round of beers she spoke up, "Being like you wouldn't be all bad, you know."

"No?" he asked while continuing to stare at the water.

"No, you're pretty kickass."

Now his head turned toward her and smiled. "You're not so bad yourself you know."

"Thanks, Steve." It was said quietly and practically into her beer. The use of his first name did not go unnoticed and the smile on his face got that much bigger.

For a moment they stared at each other, both feeling the pull of attraction (maybe something more) between them.

Before it got to intense she pulled her eyes away from his and returned to looking out into the ocean, trying to find a topic to cool the building heat. The waves gave her an idea.

"Do you surf?" she asked in a devious tone. "I've never seen you surf…"

"No…not me. I've tried; it's just not my forte." He grimaced as some unshared memory.

One eyebrow raised and she looked at him. "I find that hard to believe, you're as much a water baby as I am."

"That may be, but surfboards and I? We do not get along. The last person who tried to teach me said I was, and I quote here, 'too gangly'".

Kono let out another laugh and nearly snorted. Then she looked Steve up and down (probably a little longer than needed) and nodded appreciatively. "Well, maybe you didn't have the right teacher."

He leaned into her a little. "You offerin'?"

Titling her head she answered, "What if I am?"

"Seems only fair," he shrugged and downed the last of his beer, leaning into her more as he placed the bottle on the table, he was so close she had to resist the urge to back up and create some space between them because her body was starting to hum again and his closeness had her head swimming in no time. "Name the date and time, I'm all yours."

Kono stumbled for an answer and hid her hesitation by also downing the last of her beer. "Not tomorrow, but our next day off."

"Deal," he said lowly, moved away from her and stood. "Probably should head home, getting late."

"Yeah," she agreed and followed him to the parking lot, parting as they got to their cars which were parked next to each other.

Again they stared at each other, this time both of them unsure what to say, finally Steve settled for the easy answer.

"Night, Kono."

"Night, Steve."

* * *

><p>From her perch in the window across the alleyway, Kono listened as her team moved quickly through the hotel grounds, easily making their way to Susie's room. Taking a deep breath, she leaned over the gun and looked through the scope into the room. She could see Susie, held hostage, looking terrified; every time one of the Shehan brothers touched her Kono twitched herself.<p>

Centering her thoughts, Kono quickly took in the conditions, no breeze, she was shooting through an open window and while it wasn't far away, she knew there was the potential for there to be moving targets.

"Ready?" Steve's quiet voice came through the earpiece and she responded in the positive.

Not even 5 seconds later, there was a knock on the door and the team busted into the room. One of the brothers hauled Susie up and moved toward the window and now she smiled a little. He was making her job that much easier by separating him and the hostage from the rest of the team.

Then she heard the countdown and repositioned her aim as he moved.

"1…2…"

Three never made it from Shehan's mouth as Kono's expert shot took him out.

She kept the gun aimed through the window until she saw Steve lean over and his body language told her the threat was over. Standing, she met his gaze through the shattered glass. On his face was something resembling pride, but all she felt was hollow, disturbed even.

And she couldn't figure out why.

* * *

><p>Tapping the eraser side of her pencil against the papers in front of her, Kono stared into the empty space of her office, contemplating the day. Susie was safe, one brother dead, the other in custody, and all in all a good day.<p>

And yet, she struggled.

Looking up, she noted Steve was still in his office as well, the other members of the team had just recently departed, leaving them alone.

Staring at her boss through the glass, Kono nibbled on her lower lip before standing, tossing the pencil on the desk, and heading to his office, knocking gently before opening the glass door.

"You got a minute…Steve?"

He had already figured out the pattern, she used Boss if the conversation was professional, Steve if it was more personal. Intrigued, he indicated the chairs in front of his desk and stood himself, waiting for her to take one before he moved around the desk and sat in the other.

"What's up?"

As his blue eyes stared at her, Kono wondered if this was a good idea, maybe she should just say 'forget it' and walk out the door. But there was something indefinable on his face that kept her from moving and instead she spoke what had been bothering her since taking that shot.

"How do you do it?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"Today I was looking through that scope and I knew I had to do it. I had to pull that trigger to save Susie's life. But I just…can't get it out of my head. And I don't know why, I'm a cop for God's sake, shooting people isn't a surprise. I'm just…unsettled and I don't know why."

While she had been talking her hands had been moving furiously in front of her, but as she stopped talking Steve grabbed her hands and brought them down between them.

"There's a big difference between being in the heat of the action and being a hundred yards away. The distance makes the threat seem less…threatening."

"I guess." She wasn't convinced.

"Kono…it takes a special person to be a sniper." He blew out a breath before continuing. "Look, as a sniper for the military I didn't always know why I was on a mission, or even the name of the person I was after. I did what I was told because I believed the person giving the order had a damn good reason for it. You have an advantage I never did, you know the why. You know the person on the other end of that scope is a threat and I wouldn't want anyone else having my back."

As he was talking, the tips of Steve's fingers had started slowly ghosting over the skin of her wrists; it was relaxing and somewhat distracting. Looking into his eyes, the unsettled feeling lifted slightly but there was still a weight she couldn't shake.

He continued, "You have what it takes, Kono, I know you do."

"I don't know, Boss. I feel…off."

"I'd worry if you didn't. Take some time, try and get your mind off it."

"Ok, I will."

That's when they realized he was still practically holding her hands, his fingers still moving over her skin but at an erratic pace. They stared at each other a long moment before he dropped her hands and sat back a little in the chair, but continued to stare at her with those slate blue eyes. Then he smiled.

"Promise?"

She smiled back. "Promise." Leaning back in her chair, she regarded her boss a moment. "We got a long weekend, right?"

Steve nodded. "Governor's orders."

"You up for some surf lessons?"

Now he leaned in toward her again. "You bet."

She got up from the chair quickly and threw back as she walked through the door, "Six am tomorrow. My place."

tbc...


	3. Dangerous

Sorry guys, not sure what happened there, here is the real chapter 3.

Many thanks again for the reviews, they are greatly appreciated as always, so feel free to leave one on the way out. I figure this will go one, maybe two more chapters. Keeping it short today, on with the show...

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><p>Chapter Three: Dangerous<p>

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><p>Watching Steve McGarrett glide over the water, Kono knew she had been taken. Surfing may not have been his forte, but he wasn't half bad, especially since he had sworn up and down the last time he had gotten on a board had been in high school. While his skills had been fairly rudimentary and really rusty, it hadn't taken long before he was riding smaller waves then moving onto larger ones.<p>

Sitting on her board in the water, Kono watched as he attempted to execute a move she had just taught him…and fell off the board. Kono stifled a laugh as he broke up through the surface not far from her and pulled himself up onto the board with ease. And for the just shortest of moments Kono allowed herself to take in his exposed torso and enjoy the view; and it was one hell of a view. The man looked as if he was carved from a mountain, chiseled abs, strong biceps, and while tattoos normally didn't do much for her (and were frequently a turn off), in his case they were complementary to his personality and maybe a little hot. And not for a second did she feel bad about noticing how attractive he was; they were both adults and admiring someone's body was certainly not a capital offense. Even if said person was her boss.

Slowly he paddled over to her and for a moment they sat side by side in the water, bobbing along with the waves in silence.

"Remind me to never play poker with you," she finally said without turning.

"Why?"

"Surfboards and I don't get along, not my forte," she started with a deep, almost mocking, voice before turning to him and raising an eyebrow. "Complete crap, by the way."

"It's not my forte!" he protested weakly.

"And gangly? I doubt it." Her tone was serious, but Kono was having a hard time keeping the grin off her face as she gave Steve a hard time.

Steve paddled a little closer to her. "Hey, to be fair, I was a teenage boy. Of course I was gangly. We all are."

Again she raised an eyebrow and looked at him skeptically. Those slate blue eyes focused on her and Kono realized it wasn't the chiseled abs or the biceps, _those _were his best feature; that and his completely lethal smile. Somehow Kono knew combined the two had gotten Steve McGarrett into a lot of trouble with the girls.

She regarded him like prey for a second before smiling back. "How bout I show you how it's done, pretty boy?"

A raised arm in a "go head" gesture was all she got in return and in no time she was paddling out farther than Steve had dared.

Toweling off on the beach, Steve watched as Kono got the board in position and caught the next wave. It was impressive as hell, how she moved with the ocean, her body easily manipulating the board over the surface of the water. When that wave was done she paddled back out to start again.

Plopping down on the sand, Steve continued to watch her surf. He was amazed that their relationship had made it to this level of comfort; after the whole incident with Fryer and Delano, he wouldn't have blamed her if she had kept their interactions purely professional. Instead their relationship outside work had strengthened. Which he could admit was a very good thing, Steve was enjoying the time they were spending together, probably more than he should. Actually, _definitely _more than he should; and yet, he couldn't seem to stop himself. They were similar in so many ways and yet their personalities were shockingly different. He was frequently sullen and cranky, while her sunny disposition always lightened the mood.

Again she caught a wave and Steve watched as her lithe body moved along with the wave and he allowed himself to remember the first time they met. It was awkward to say the least to meet someone in a professional capacity while the other person was wearing a bikini (a very small bikini), but he had maintained his professionalism; even if his thoughts had wandered somewhere they probably shouldn't have for just a moment.

Then she had decked another surfer and he was instantly intrigued by this young, beautiful, strong, take-no-crap woman.

It was then she decided to call it quits and turned in toward shore slowly. By the time she reached him and dug the board into the sand he had a water open and ready for her, smiling as he handed it up. Returning the smile she sat next to him in the sand and guzzled half the contents quickly.

They sat in silence a while, something Kono noticed they did a lot, but it was never uncomfortable before she spoke a question that occurred to her while she had been out of the water. A question that while she didn't necessarily want to ask, she also needed the answer – if he would provide it.

"If surfing isn't your thing, why did you agree to come out here today?"

Steve glanced at her before staring out into the water again. "Sun, sand, water and good company. Why wouldn't I?"

Now he stared at her and Kono could feel that tingling in her body that always came with his looks these days.

"I thought the point was teaching," she said lightly in an attempt to make their time together seem more professional than it actually was.

"I thought the point was bonding."

That threw her completely and her eyes widened slightly. Bonding implied something deeper between them than teammates.

"Steve…" she started but he stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Look, Kono. I just felt like after Fryer and IA and the whole Delano thing that maybe we weren't on such good terms, like we had drifted apart a little. Maybe I'm making up for lost time."

She found that wording odd but chose to ignore it. "You don't need to, you know. We're good, boss."

When he flinched at the word "boss", Kono was even more confused. Were these "lessons" intended to be professional or personal "bonding"? Initially she thought professional, but now she was starting to wonder if he had another agenda.

"I do need to. I want to." He stated with finality, and then quickly switched topics. "Did you know Jenna Kaye is back on the island?"

Kono could take a hint, he was done discussing it. "No, I didn't."

"Called me yesterday; wants to meet up. I wonder if she found her fiancé."

"I hope so for her sake, she clearly loves him a lot."

All he did was nod in response.

* * *

><p>Staring at the helicopter that looked far older than her, Kono was glad she wasn't actually getting in it. It had been decided she would stay behind and watch the compound Steve was being held in by satellite and communicate with the team. There was only so much room in the copter, and Kono honestly wasn't sure she wanted to go anyway. The thought of finding his dead body instead of alive and well was almost too much to consider, it actually made her nauseous.<p>

Seated at the table, computer up and running in front of her, she watched the rest of the team take off and head north.

The sweetest words she had ever heard came almost an hour later when Joe called her on the sat phone and told her they had Steve and he was for the most part ok. In the twenty minutes since the call she had rummaged through the broken down shack and pulled together what she could manage for medical supplies. In the short time she had managed to assemble a couple clean towels, half a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, gauze and medical tape and some butterfly bandages.

It wasn't long after that the helicopter appeared in the distance and she bounced on the balls of her feet on the rickety porch in anticipation. All she wanted was to see him, to confirm with her own eyes that he was alive and (mostly) well. Anxiety ripped through her as the helicopter touched down and she got a quick glance at Steve, slumped against Joe. The man looked like he had been to hell and back.

Little was said as Joe and Chin carried Steve into the small shack and Kono directed them to a cot pushed against the wall, near where she had set up the supplies. They sat him down, propping him upright.

"You've got twenty minutes to clean him up a little while we prep to head for the airfield to get back on that transport heading for home," Joe stated as he headed out the door calling for Chin and Lori to follow him, leaving Danny to hover in the background, concern rolling off him in waves.

"You need help?" the blond finally asked and she shook her head.

"Not sure." Her voice sounded unsteady even to her own ears.

With a practiced eye Kono immediately assessed what could (and should) be taken care of now and what could wait until they got to the naval base a couple hours from here. Taking note of how he sat, leaning over his abdomen, in a fetal-like position, Kono knew the t-shirt he was wearing would need to come off, and she realized she couldn't do it herself.

"Danny," she called out and almost laughed at how quickly the other man moved to be at her side. "Help me."

Together the two sat Steve up and easily removed the button down shirt he wore. What had her concerned was Steve barely seemed to notice they were there, his eyes were glassy, unfocused and she wondered if he had a concussion on top of everything else.

"Hold him up," she said and while Danny did his best to hold up his much larger friend and partner, Kono slipped her hands under the tee. As soon as her fingers touched the abused skin of his abdomen, Steve let out a hiss of pain, but didn't pull away.

Using a swift motion, Kono pulled the cotton over his head and let out an involuntary "Oh shit" at seeing what the shirt was hiding. The skin of Steve's abdomen and part of his chest was mottled in bruises of varying colors. Unable to resist the urge, she reached out and, with just the tips of her fingers, touched the skin again, gently gliding her fingers over the bruising. The skin was warm to the touch from the abuse.

Suddenly fingers were wrapping around her wrist, stilling her motions and she snapped her eyes up to catch Steve looking at her intently.

"Broken ribs…" he croaked out and she nodded.

Without breaking eye contact with Steve, Kono spoke, directing her words to Danny, who was still somewhat holding Steve upright. "See if you can find a fresh shirt for him, would you Danny?"

"If I let go…" he started but Steve cut him off.

"I'm good." And proved the point by sitting up fairly straight without assistance.

"Ok, right back." Then Danny looked at his watch. "Ten minutes, Kono."

She just nodded and turned back to Steve, who was now clearly struggling to sit upright.

Looking around she grabbed a larger towel and folded it in half lengthwise before wrapping it carefully around his ribs. Grasping his hand, she indicated for him to hold the towel while she used the button down shirt to wrap around the towel and tied it in the hope it would keep both in place until they got him real medical treatment. As she pulled the shirt tight he let out a low hiss.

"Sorry," she said and placed one hand on the makeshift wrap, confirming it would stay at least temporarily and maybe provide him some relief. His hand covered hers gently and she looked down at him with a small smile. "That should hold a while."

You're here," he said quietly and squeezed her hand.

Kono tilted her head. "Where else would I be?" she asked then smiled.

"Wasn't sure," he started slowly, exhaustion was clearly taking its toll. Her normally quick-witted boss was struggling with a sentence. That or he really did have a concussion. "Didn't see you out there."

"Ahhh, well…someone had to man the phones."

That earned her a classic McGarrett grin and she returned it. Regretfully she pulled her hand out from under his and moved to cleaning up the cut over his eye. Kono was very aware that his eyes followed her every move as she picked up the towel and bottle of peroxide. It was a little disconcerting especially since he never spoke.

Silently she worked on the cut, also very aware that she was standing between his legs, with little space between their bodies. Despite the situation, Kono felt that buzz start up again, but it was just a slight hum, a reminder of his nearness more than anything.

As she finished placing the butterfly bandages on the cut, his hand landed on her hip, gently squeezing.

Her brain was screaming at her to back up, move away, but her body would not cooperate to save her life. This was bad, because his fingers were burning her skin through her tank top, the spark between them moving swiftly at the contact point. Looking down at him, Kono saw the same torn expression on his face, though neither moved to place the appropriate space between them, to break the connection.

"Steve…" she started softly, but honestly didn't know what to say after that because dammit deep down she didn't want him to let go. But the circumstances were far from ideal at that moment and she knew as the one of the two of them in their right mind, she would have to make the first move.

So she stepped back and watched disappointment cross his face before his features went neutral again.

"I…I think we can skip…skip field dressing training," he said with a slow smile.

"I thought it was bonding." She shot back with a smile of her own.

"It's…whatever you want it to be…" he pressed out, staring at her intently and that was the second Danny returned, holding a fairly clean blue shirt.

"Got one!" The blonde announced.

Kono and Steve shared one more long look before she turned to Danny and indicated for him to help her get Steve redressed.

When the plane took off from South Korea for home they exchanged small knowing smiles and Kono got the distinct impression that there was something brewing between them. Something that could not be contained and was most likely dangerous.


	4. In the Air

**Apologies for the stretch between updates, readers; this chapter gave me more trouble than I expected and honestly I haven't had much time to work on it. More notes at the end…**

**Thank you again for all the great reviews, I appreciate them from the bottom of my heart, please leave one on your way out.**

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><p>Chapter Four: The Beginning.<p>

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><p>The punch to her midsection came harder than she expected, and had her doubling over slightly, but Kono was able to deflect the next attempt off to the side. Before she could gather herself completely, however, another blow landed on her lower back, pushing her forward unsteadily.<p>

Now she was getting pissed.

As her assailant paused she turned swiftly, dropped down, and swept one foot out, catching him by the ankles. It was enough to send him down hard, but as soon as his back hit the floor, he was rolling out of her strike zone and back up to his feet.

Facing each other, they circled slowly, each trying to determine the other's next move.

Kono decided to use her go-to move and swiftly pulled her leg up to roundhouse him in the chest, unfortunately her prey knew her habits all too well and as her foot approached grabbed it and pulled, sending her smashing to the ground.

"God Dammit!" she screamed and the sound bounced harshly off the gym walls.

Steve raised one eyebrow at her in amusement and stepped back from what was about to be an attempt to help her off the floor. At this point she probably wouldn't have appreciated the gesture.

"What is the point to this again?" she asked while sitting up, still on the floor.

"Training."

"Yeah, brah, I got that part."

Kneeling in front of her he tried to explain, "You can roundhouse the hell out of anyone, I wouldn't want to suffer the wrath of your right hook and your tackles are NFL worthy. But I've read the reports, the one time you were put on the defensive I had to come save your ass before the Russian's killed you and the kid."

She frowned at his words, true as they were. "So you think beating the crap outta me is going to help?"

Now he stood and held out a hand. "No, I think teaching you to beat the crap outta me is going to help. If you can hang with a SEAL, I'll feel confident that you can handle yourself in any situation."

Something about the words disturbed Kono so as she allowed him to pull her to standing she questioned him. "You aren't confident now?"

His eyes widened as he realized how what he had said might have been taken the wrong way. "No, I am. Very confident. I just…I want to make sure if anything happens that you can take care of it."

This time it was the tone that caught her attention and she continued to question, knowing somehow there was something driving todays "lesson". "Do you expect something to happen?"

"You never know, Kono. What we do every day…" He paused and looked at her; too much was at stake here to not be completely honest with her. "It's just...Wo Fat is still out there somewhere and has caused enough damage. I don't want there to be more because you weren't prepared for it."

"You think he would come after us." It was a statement.

Steve started to fidget slightly; this conversation had the potential to go somewhere he wasn't sure he was prepared to. "He might come after the people I care about. That's what I would do."

She considered that then, "Ok, let's get going. Teach me, master."

He gave her a face. "Don't…don't call me that. Please."

She just smiled. "Ok…" They moved into position but before they started again she asked another question. "So…Danny, Chin and Lori are all getting these lessons too, right?"

His face visibly blanched and she smiled like the cat that ate the canary - she had her answer. Jabbing at his mid-section she said, "Didn't think so. Oh, and no face shots…I'm pretty sure Malia would kill us both if we had bruises in the pictures."

"Agreed," he smiled and they quickly went back to fighting.

* * *

><p>After making her rounds through family and friends, Kono sat down sideways in the chair assigned to her heavily, taking a long drink of champagne. It had been a lovely wedding, and she was thrilled for her cousin and Malia, but damn, she'd barely had a chance to sit down.<p>

After the service they'd had a small reception area set up on the lanai of a beachside restaurant. Since Chin was old friends with the owners they'd had the whole lanai to themselves with several tables, a small dance floor, bar and a beautiful view of the water. Aside from eating quickly, most of her evening had been spent walking around and talking. Now the sun was going down and the outdoor lights illuminated the space beautifully.

Sitting as she was, Kono could either look out onto the beach or watch the party. Right now she was focused on Chin and Malia as they worked their way through the small crowd, speaking to every guest. Both wore smiles a mile wide, and it put a smile on her own face, she was truly happy for them, it had been a long road and Chin deserved it. Slowly she ran one finger around the edge of the champagne flute and nearly laughed out loud when she spied Grace taking a turn around the dance floor with Steve. Her boss was trying his best to keep the little girl on his feet, but their height difference was causing him quite a bit of trouble and it looked rather awkward.

Looking around for her other teammates she found Lori and Max chatting rather animatedly a couple tables over and Danny had just wandered over to the bar. Leaning over she pulled one high heeled shoe off and sighed audibly.

A warm, familiar, hand dropped on her right shoulder, fingertips slowly sliding across her upper back sending little jolts through her body at the contact; the skin he had touched felt like it was on fire.

"I suggested slippers, just so you know."

She smiled as he sat to her left, just barely touching her crossed legs as he also sat sideways in the chair. "Well, slippers wouldn't have matched the dress," she replied with a wink.

"Yeah, Chin said the same thing…"

"Clearly she already has him trained properly." Her tone was serious, but the dimpled smile on her face gave away that she was kidding.

He appraised her a moment before speaking again, "Well, it is a nice dress, and you look good in it."

She smiled and nodded, "Thanks, Steve."

Suddenly another glass of champagne appeared in front of her. "To the happy couple," he toasted and raised his glass.

"To forever," she responded and clinked their glasses together.

After they each drank Steve spoke again, "You believe in forever?"

Shrugging she replied, "Sure. When you have something like Chin and Malia, I don't see why forever isn't possible. You don't?"

He seemed to consider that a moment. Did he believe in forever? It was an awful long time and as Steve was well aware, life didn't always work in your favor. "I don't know. Maybe." He looked wistful for a moment then, "I think my parents would have been forever." The '_if they had lived' _was left unspoken.

She leaned her side against the back of the chair and regarded him a moment. "I would have liked to meet your father; I bet he was something else."

That earned her a throaty chuckle and something that resembled a snort. "When I was a teenager I swore I was never going to be like him, I would never send my kids away. I thought he was being a selfish asshole. Now…now I know better. And it would be a privilege to be like him."

Kono didn't know how to respond, it was more than he had ever said to her about his father that didn't relate to Wo Fat or John's murder.

Suddenly a smile graced his face and he pointed his champagne glass at her as he leaned toward her. "And oh, he would have liked you. All girly and kick-ass and smart as hell."

"Thanks," she replied quietly and they stared at each other a moment, eyes locked. And her heart was pounding in her ears as he somehow managed to get her blood pumping with just a look. And if he could do that with just a glance…Unbidden the image of them writhing around on his bed together, naked, hands and lips touching heated skin flew through her mind and she had to look away for a moment to gather herself.

Silence dropped over them and she finished her drink before leaning into him conspiratorially, attempting to steer conversation to something safer. "Max and Lori are awfully chummy, whazup with that?"

He leaned in as well, until their shoulders touched and spied the pair, still lost in conversation. "I don't know." His voice was honestly perplexed, then he pointed to the table across from them. "Danny and museum lady seem to be having fun."

Turning her gaze to match his, she saw them sitting close together. "Her name isn't 'museum lady'."

He smirked, "Yeah? Then what is it?"

For the life of her, Kono could not remember the woman's name. "It's…" Scrunching her nose up she struggled. "I…I don't remember."

"HA!" Steve said quickly, as if he had won something.

"You're proud of the fact we can't remember Danny's date's name? A woman we've met before? Dude…come on," she chastised.

For a moment he looked guilty. "Yeah, sorry."

Refocusing her gaze out to the water she sighed, "It's a beautiful night."

"Yeah, it is."

When she turned back to him, Kono realized he had been staring at her while speaking. And he was _staring _at her, those blue eyes focused on her so completely it sent shivers down her back despite the mild temperatures that night. Just as she was starting to feel uncomfortable under his scrutiny he stood and held out one hand to her, "Dance?"

"Steve…"

"Don't over think it, Kono. It's just a dance."

But it wasn't and they both knew it. And yet she found herself standing and taking his hand and allowing him to lead her to the floor as Ke Kali Nei Au, one of her favorites, started playing through the speakers.

Steve didn't even attempt to keep up pretenses and he pulled her close, one hand wrapped around her waist, hand flush against her lower back, the other holding her hand between them. Somehow her other arm had made its way around his shoulders, her face next to his and that's how they spun around the floor slowly, Steve expertly leading.

At first she was very aware that the entire team was there, possibly watching them, but it didn't take long before she focused solely on Steve. The feel of his body pressed fully against hers, the smell of his light cologne mixed with sand and water, the sound of his even breaths, warm on her cheek.

Pulling her head back slightly, they locked gazes and continued to spin. Suddenly that buzz wasn't just in her head, it was everywhere; she was hyper-aware of Steve's presence, especially where they touched – it was electric. And she was very aware of a familiar, warm sensation that was pooling in her lower belly.

As the second song began neither attempted to pull apart, they were content to continue their dance. Spinning slowly his fingers started moving in slow, almost seductive, circles on her lower back and those blue eyes seemed to darken.

The air between them was thick, heavy with possibility and each other; it was almost as if the rest of the world didn't exist.

Neither was quite sure what compelled them to suddenly act so…physical with each other. Maybe it was the wedding atmosphere or maybe because they couldn't avoid this any longer, the smiles and looks and barest of touches were no longer enough.

Either way, Steve was thankful they were far from the only couple on the dance floor and he had maneuvered them into a quiet corner, away from the tables and view of most of the guests.

As the song ended, they finally separated, but he kept one hand loosely at her lower back, guiding them back toward their seats. Stepping off the dance floor, Steve scanned the crowd and made eye contact with Chin and realized, if the other mans expression was anything to go by, that he and Kono's intimate dance had not gone completely unnoticed.

For the first time in a very long time, Steve had a complete moment of panic. While he wasn't sure exactly where this _thing_ with Kono was going, the fact of the matter was Steve respected the older man and his disapproval would put a halt to anything before it even started.

What he received was a small, accepting smile that also held a touch of warning.

Steve responded with a terse nod of acknowledgement and continued toward the seats even as the band called up Chin and Malia for one last dance and several other couples joined them.

Sitting sideways in her seat again, legs crossed, Kono drank from a glass of water she'd grabbed on the way back, all the while watching him carefully. Even though they had separated she could still feel the warmth in her belly and now all she wanted was for him to touch her again – his touch was nearly addictive.

Which was a dangerous thing. Because while her body craved him, her brain was having a hard time processing the implications of what would happen between them personally and professionally if they gave in. And based on the way he was staring at her as well, Kono knew Steve would give her what she wanted if she asked.

Before she could open her mouth to try and get out what she was thinking, Steve gently grasped the wrist that rested on her knee, his fingers dancing over the thin, delicate skin on the inside. Any concerns she may have had were obliterated with each slow swirl of his fingers.

Then his fingers moved up the inside of her arm and as he reached the inside of her elbow, Steve rotated his hand and slipped his fingers to the outside of her thigh, sliding over the material of her dress. He kept his fingers in a respectable location close to her knee, and yet, the warmth in her belly exploded into a near fire at the touch.

Lifting her eyes from where they had been watching his fingers tap gently at her knee, she looked at him and was nearly knocked over by the blatant want in his eyes.

It had to stop, one of them had to stop this before it went too far; and yet, she couldn't manage to open her mouth to do it. Again her brain and body were at war and Kono wasn't even sure who she wanted to win.

Finally Steve started to speak, but was quickly cut off by the announcement that Chin and Malia were leaving to start their honeymoon and the pair moved apart to stand and say goodbye to the couple. Despite the fact they kept their distance approaching the newlyweds, Kono could still feel the electricity cackling between them, it was almost palpable. She wondered idly if other people could sense it as well, it felt that powerful to her.

They waited patiently to be nearly the last to say their goodbye's and Kono warmly hugged both, giving her cousin a brief kiss on the cheek.

When Steve reached out to shake Chin's hand, the older man gave him a knowing, amused smirk.

"Congrats, man," Steve said and clapped Chin on the back.

"Thanks, see you in a week." And again Chin smiled at him.

Steve just nodded and moved back to stand next to Kono, who continued to wave at the couple until they left the lanai.

As she turned back to Steve, a little unsure of where they went from here, he spoke while indicating the beach behind them with his head. "Walk?"

She regarded him and his broad grin a moment before nodding and walking with him, both removing their shoes (and in Steve's case his socks) and leaving them under the table before stepping from the lanai onto the warm sand.

Slowly they worked their way down the deserted beach; it was late, nearly 1 am, but neither felt tired, nor the urge to part ways just yet. The night was beautiful, a nearly full moon and gentle, warm breeze accompanied them. And while her emotions had cooled off significantly since their physical connection was broken, the longer they walked in silence the more she was acutely aware that he had moved closer and her body was, once again, humming with anticipation.

"I'm glad he's finally happy," she said suddenly and walked closer to the water so the tide would occasionally rush over her feet and ankles. "He deserves it after everything."

Steve followed her into the surf, continuing to walk next to her, and rolled up his pants so as not to get the rented tux damp but said nothing.

The walked a few more steps before she stopped suddenly and grabbed his forearm, spinning him to face her, the water still sloshing over their feet.

"Look, Steve…" she started but was cut off when he abruptly leaned forward, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a searing kiss.

And oh god, it was all she expected and more. The fire in her belly returned with a vengeance and she grasped his shirt in her small hands, pulling him even closer. Then his hand slid up her back and Kono shivered just slightly at the touch as it rested between her shoulder blades and his lips moved furiously against hers.

For a moment they pulled apart, each taking a much needed breath before they joined again, lips open this time, tongues dueling fiercely, wantonly. When he nipped at her lower lip she let out a low moan and pressed her body even harder against his, fingers releasing his shirt and finding purchase on his biceps. His hands had moved up father, winding into her hair, pulling gently on the tresses.

When they parted again for air, his fingers traced the line of her jaw, eyes locked on hers.

"Come home with me," he practically whispered and kissed her deeply.

Though the words were not entirely unexpected, Kono was still startled when he said them. And it threw a little cold water on the fire that had been swiftly burning inside her. Because while her body wanted her to say yes (more than anything), her head was telling her it was too soon, there was too much at stake between them, both personally and professionally, to just jump into something without thinking it through.

"No," she said simply and took a small (very small) step back from him.

Confusion and mild amusement quickly spread over his face. "No?"

"No," she confirmed and placed one hand on his chest when he tried to move closer. "Not…now."

Steve searched her face a moment before nodding and backing off himself. "Ok, yeah. Sorry."

"Don't be. I just think we need to…think it through."

Now he cocked his head toward her as they stepped out of the water, strolling slowly back to the restaurant. "Not normally my MO, but first time for everything I guess."

That had her laughing out loud.

It wasn't long before they arrived back at the lanai, gathering their abandoned shoes; they were the last to head out to the empty parking lot, all the other guests had left shortly after Chin and Malia. Steve walked her to her car but before she could open the door had her pressed against it, his lips gently meeting hers for a soft, lingering kiss.

"No fair," she murmured into his lips as he pulled away.

He gave her that sometimes infuriating grin, "Just giving you something to think about."

Then he turned, stuck his hands in his pockets and whistled while he walked to his car.

Whistled.

Kono smiled to herself and got in the car. This was going to be interesting.

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><p><strong>AN: This is probably the last chapter that is going to hold close to the show (besides I'm running out of eps soon!) so the next will probably be the last, but it will have a sequel that will veer away from the show and use my own plot idea.<strong>


	5. The End of the Beginning

Notes at the end this chapter, but I do want to say THANK YOU for all wonderful reviews, I got an absolute ton the last go around and appreciate them from the bottom of my heart. Hope this chapter lives up to the last one!

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><p>Chapter 5: The End of the Beginning<p>

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><p>The burning sensation had started in her legs, thankfully far later than she'd expected. Eyes closed, she focused on the water around her and the struggle to keep her head above it despite the fact that both her hands and legs were bound. At one point she adopted a mermaid style movement legs that managed to keep her from drowning, but was also causing the burn. It wouldn't be long before the burn would be agonizing. But she wouldn't quit.<p>

She couldn't.

Soon, it would all be over soon, she just needed to hold out a couple more seconds, and then she would get some relief. However brief.

"Forward," his voice called out in that distinct SEAL tone and she complied, flipping herself forward in the water four times before returning to bobbing for a couple seconds before his second command was barked out, "Back."

This way was harder than forward what with her hands and arms tied, but she managed to back flip four times as well. The change in movement relieved some of the burn in her legs, so she opened her eyes as she surfaced, surprised to find a small crowd gathering on the pool deck behind Steve. Apparently her activities had gathered attention from the other SEALs training in the pool.

Steve had been mostly joking when he'd suggested drown proofing as their next "lesson" and when she quickly (and enthusiastically) agreed he had been clearly taken aback, attempting to backtrack the suggestion. When he described what it was and the difficulty level she merely nodded and still responded she wanted to try, commenting, "Steve, I've been surfing since I was nine…pretty sure I'm drown proof already", he had sighed and agreed.

Yeah, now she was regretting goading him into letting her try; because despite how easy it seemed when she read about it, _doing _it was much, much harder.

"Down," he commanded and she complied, swimming awkwardly toward the bottom of the pool and snagging a small ring of metal keys from the bottom of the pool with her teeth. Reversing, she returned back toward the surface, breaking the water and showing Steve the object.

He nodded tersely and as she dropped the keys he spoke again, "Bob, five times."

Cocking her head at him, she smiled and challenged him. "Seven."

His eyebrows shot up and the SEALs behind him snickered their approval of her challenge.

Instead of accepting, he shot back, "Ten."

"Done."

That earned whistles from the gallery.

Despite the fact as soon as she started the bobs her legs burned, Kono applied the same determination she did to everything and pressed forward. Focused solely on the task, she almost didn't realize that the crowd was counting with each bob until they got to five. Half done.

The pain was almost unbearable, her legs cramping painfully. It still wasn't as bad as the pain when she tore both her ACL and MCL, destroying her knee and career, so she continued undeterred.

"Seven…eight…

Agony…this was agony and even the knee that never bothered her anymore was starting to ache deeply.

"Nine..."

The throbbing in her muscles was incredible …painful really, and she was suddenly so completely exhausted – bone weary, really – that it took immense effort to complete the last bob, but when she did cheers erupted and that was enough to keep her above water as Steve jumped in next to her, swiftly cutting the ropes that bound her.

Immediate relief flooded through her when they were released, enough that she was able to at least swim over to the edge of the pool. But before she could test her muscles to see if they would allow her to pull herself out, strange hands were doing it, depositing her gently on the deck.

As Steve pulled himself from the pool and sat concern covering his face as he took her in, Kono's arms and legs started to shake, almost violently. This was not unexpected, the adrenaline that had been keeping her moving was wearing off and muscles were adjusted back to their natural position.

They were just far more severe than she expected.

A towel appeared in her line of vision from somewhere and she took it gratefully pulling it as best she could around her shoulders. "That's…" Kono literally couldn't come up with a word that aptly described drown proofing "…challenging."

"They don't call it drown proofing for nothing," one of the men behind her commented.

"Yeah, I guess not," she replied with a broad smile that belayed the effort it was taking her to control the shaking.

"Nice job by the way, impressive as hell for a civilian." Another man said and the others nodded in agreement.

"Thanks…"

Suddenly there was a shrill whistle from the other side of the pool and a stern voice clipped out, "Back to work boys, break time is over."

As they passed her, each man gave her congrats before moving on; the last in line, a man closer to Steve's age patted her on the shoulder and spoke to Steve, "This one's a keeper McGarrett."

Steve looked up at the man and nodded, "Couldn't agree more, sir."

Kono's eyes snapped up to his and Steve merely smirked at her. "What? It was impressive and you are a keeper."

As she started to respond her arms and legs started shaking harder, which was causing the rest of her body to vibrate. Steve moved directly in front of her and started slowly rubbing up and down her arms, trying to get the muscles to relax and blood flow moving and to give her something to focus on.

Eventually the shakes began to subside and she leaned forward, placing her forehead on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry…" he mumbled into her ear. "I shouldn't have pushed. That's a pretty punishing exercise."

"I pushed…it's good…" she said and pulled herself farther into his lap not because of the shaking (which was all but gone) but because she had missed him. It had been nearly a month since he had held her while they danced and later kissed on the beach after Chin's wedding. And in all that time Kono had found herself aching for him, for his touch. The strength of the feeling was nearly overwhelming, and what wasn't helping was in the last four weeks Steve had taken to paying more attention to her at work. They had teamed up several times in the last couple cases, far more then they usually did. Kono had even caught Danny looking at Steve funny the last time he had done so.

On top of that there had been the treats that kept appearing on her desk. One day malsadas, a few days later coco puffs, coffee from her favorite place a couple times, then he had taken her out for lunch one day in between interviewing witness. It was subtle and yet got the point across; he was continuing to give her something to think about.

And thinking she was. She was thinking that maybe they were worth giving a shot; that they could make it work.

As of yet she had been unable to tell that to Steve, mostly because she was enjoying the time they were spending together outside the label of a relationship. Kono had a terrible track record with real relationships with men. Of course, a lot of that had to do with her chosen professions. Not many men could compete with a champion surfer or cop on a special task force. And then there was Steve. Navy SEAL, task force head, he understood and could more than compete with her job.

Finally the shaking came to a complete stop and she started to pull away from him, but his arms wrapped around her shoulders prevented her from going far.

"Steve…" she said with a touch of warning and after holding her another couple seconds he released, allowing her to sit up.

"Maybe we need to give the lessons a rest for a bit."

"Maybe I need to listen when you tell me it's hard."

"Well, yeah. But you're awfully stubborn; don't think I could have stopped you if I wanted to."

Snorting she stood. "I'm stubborn? Says you of all people…"

He followed her up and they slowly walked to the locker room. "What? I'm working on being more…receptive to other's ideas."

"Uhhh huh." Her tone was not-quite believing.

A smirk crossed his face. "I said _working on it._ I didn't say it was successful."

Shaking her head she pointed back to the locker room. "I'll meet you at the truck." She really wanted to get out of the wet clothes; a wet swimsuit was one thing, but wet clothes she couldn't stand. Steve had made it clear she should wear long cargo pants and a long sleeved shirt. Which seemed ridiculous until she realized the why; without the clothing covering her ankles and wrists, the wet cord he had tied her with would have cut into her skin. As it was there were rings of light red where she had been bound.

"Of course. See you out there." Almost as an afterthought, he leaned over and kissed her temple before heading into his own locker room to change. She watched him go a moment before turning and heading into the room, amazed at how easily he had just leaned over and kissed her. Clearly their relationship was moving along without them, though she didn't mind. Not at all.

* * *

><p><em>This is getting ridiculous<em>, Kono thought as she vaulted over a small fence.

They ran from her almost every damn time, it was starting to grate on her nerves. Rarely did suspects run from Danny or Steve.

Always from her. Kono knew why, she was a woman and on top of that she was small, so suspects figured they could outrun her or beat her in a fight. They were always proven wrong on both points.

A flash of red turning into a thick tree line between two houses had her slowing down before making the same corner carefully. She knew her teammates wouldn't be far behind, though she had a significant lead on them. When the suspect had bolted out the backdoor as she cleared the kitchen, Kono had about enough time to yell out what happened before she was chasing Jason Ganz through the backyards of one of Honolulu's upper class subdivisions.

Raising her gun, she yelled out for Ganz to show himself, but was met with silence. The sun was setting and the space between the houses was filled with foliage, making it hard for her to see even the distinct red shirt of her suspect.

Moving slowly she saw red a second too late as Ganz came out swinging with a medium sized tree branch, knocking the gun from her hand first, and then aiming at her mid-section. The gun went flying into the trees to her right and the shot to her abdomen had her crashing to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. If it wasn't for the vest, she probably would have been in more pain (and trouble).

As she tried to rise, Ganz tossed the branch aside and straddled her hips, pinning her down. Almost instantaneously his fists were pounding around her head.

It was all she could do to get her hands up fast enough to protect her face, and yet he still caught her head several times. When she tried to swing back at him, he deflected the attack and a fist came down hard on her jaw, sending shooting pain through her head. Everything was starting to get incredibly fuzzy, black slowly rolling into the edges of her vision.

Kono continued to deflected as many as she could even as nausea threatened and one of her eyes swelled; even getting in a couple good shots, but she was quickly losing as the attack became relentless, fists striking her head, face, shoulders, anywhere he could.

At some point his weight lifted from her and before she could even think about moving, kicked her in the side, right below the vest. Kono cried out when stabbing pain shot through her back and tried to move away but found her limbs just wouldn't cooperate at the speed she wanted them to. Or at all really.

The next few seconds happened so fast, later Kono wouldn't be able to recall exactly what happened. She saw Ganz pull his leg back again to kick her – this time in the head, and then there was Steve's voice shouting, the sound of running and then a dull thud on the ground near her. For a moment there was silence then familiar hands were ghosting over her skin and removing the Velcro of her vest.

"Kono…"Chin's voice was soft, but insistent, then farther away as he talked to someone else. "We need a bus here."

"No…" she managed to croak out even as every move she made caused pain to come from somewhere on her body.

"Don't argue cuz, you look like you went twelve rounds with Tyson and lost."

When she moved to roll to her uninjured side and felt like throwing up Kono knew the battle was lost and simply nodded.

Suddenly Steve was kneeling in front of her and God, all she wanted was to curl up in him. Then he signaled at Chin, who was on the phone with dispatch, to hang up.

"No bus, we can take her."

Chin relayed the info and quickly hung up. "I'll grab the car."

Danny, who had been standing back, holding onto Ganz, yanked on the suspects handcuffs, pulling him back toward the house they had started at, his voice could be heard as they walked away. "…and now you can add assaulting a police officer to the list, dumbass. Nice job…what are you on? Meth? Crack? Idiot…"

The blondes rant had a smile crossing her face as Steve helped her into a sitting position, leaning back against his chest, his arms wrapped protectively around her.

"Chin will be here soon."

"K…" she mumbled, pressing her cheek into his chest and moaning slightly when she shifted and pain shot up her back from the kick.

"I know it hurts…just hang in there."

Squeezing her eyes against the pain she nodded slowly.

The next time a suspect ran from her, she was shooting first.

* * *

><p>The hospital had taken nearly two hours before they confirmed mostly bruises and a mild concussion, thankfully the kick hadn't done real damage and as a compromise they allowed her to go home if someone stayed with her. Both Steve and Chin had agreed but in the end Steve won out, telling Chin he should go home to his wife.<p>

Steve was pretty sure the older man saw right through his lame attempt to stay with her, but if he did he didn't say a word, merely nodding knowingly.

It wasn't long after that that Steve was pulling into her driveway.

"Convinced Chin to go home did you?" she muttered from her place leaning against the door. There wasn't even much pain anymore thanks to the medication from the hospital, mostly now she was just exhausted and was really looking forward to her bed and about twelve hours of sleep.

"He's got a wife these days, you know. Is it a problem I wanted to keep an eye on you?"

Despite everything she still smiled and shot back, "As long as it's just an eye."

He snorted and pulled a duffle bag from the back of the truck cab before opening the door and walking to her side, opening the door and helping her down. Kono allowed Steve to take most of her weight as she leaned against him on the walk from the truck to inside and finally to her bed (oh, her bed never looked so comfortable), where he set her down.

He looked at her a moment before tilting his head back toward the living room. "You need anything?"

"No…thanks. There's a pillow and blankets in the hall closet."

Nodding Steve stepped forward, sitting gently on the bed beside her. His hand came up and slowly ghosted his fingers across her face, just touching the bruise at her temple, before moving down, sliding over her partially swollen eye, mottled cheek and finally stopping at her jaw, where a dark bruise covered the skin from ear to lip. There his thumb moved over the split in her lip and she leaned into the touch, sighing as she did.

She sensed him moving but did nothing to stop it as he leaned in; placing a careful, chaste kiss against the cut at her lip then tilted his head and kissed her flush on the lips, just as chastely.

"Get some sleep," he whispered and pulled away, standing. "Call me if you need me, ok?"

"Ok," she nodded and he quietly left, closing the door behind him.

It didn't take long for Kono to change into a pair of cotton pants and a tank top then slip into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

When she woke, Kono knew it was at least late morning based on the brightness of her bedroom and after consulting her clock realized she had, indeed, slept nearly 12 hours. Rolling over she groaned, it seemed like every muscle was sore, her head was just shy of pounding and there was a deep ache in her side where she had been kicked.

Getting up gingerly she moved to the bathroom, looked at her face with a passing frown and lifted her tank top, revealing a deep purple, nearly black, bruise on her side that wrapped around her back. Moving back to her bedroom to grab her cell which sat on her night table, Kono noticed two things that were not there the night before.

The bottle of pain medication from the hospital and a small bottle of water.

A small smile graced her face at the gesture and she quickly downed two pills, taking the water with her as she moved toward the kitchen. The second she stepped into the hallway, the smell of food, specifically eggs and bacon, assaulted her and her stomach grumbled in anticipation. When _had_ she eaten last?

Making the turn into her living room, Kono stopped short at the sight in front of her.

Steve McGarrett was in her kitchen; he had found the music stations from the satellite TV and was bopping along to classic rock while cooking with a towel thrown over his shoulder, turning the bacon over.

It was terribly domestic and felt…right to have him here in the morning. To wake up to him making breakfast (even if the hour was much closer to lunchtime). It was a strange and yet comforting realization, only confirming his presence in her personal life was welcome, and wanted.

"You gonna stand there all day, or are you going to eat?" he asked without looking up from placing a generous portion of eggs, bacon and some fresh pineapple on a plate for her.

Wordlessly she approached and took the plate. "That's an awful lot of food there, McGarrett."

He snorted and made another plate. "I've seen how you eat, Kalakaua."

Not having an answer to that she took the plate to her small breakfast table, sat down and quickly inhaled several forkfuls. He sat across from her and did the same, they ate in silence for a while before he spoke, "How are you feeling?"

"Sore…really sore. And this," she waved her hand around her face to indicate the bruises that had darkened overnight and half-closed eye. "Is not a good look. I think I'll be staying in the office for a couple days."

Steve started to say _"It's not that bad…"_ but only got out the "It's" before her don't-humor-me look stopped him cold.

"Ok," he agreed between bites of egg.

"Thanks," she said. "And not just for the food, but for staying and leaving the meds."

"Anytime. I need to head in this afternoon; Denning wants all the reports about yesterday filed to him today. Chin wrote up yours from the statement he got at the hospital, so we are good there. But when I'm done…ok if I come back and check on you?"

Kono eyed him carefully, it was phrased as a question but she knew perfectly well he would be there regardless what she said. "That's a polite way of saying you're coming over no matter what I say, isn't it?"

"Maybe…"

Standing, she moved to his side of the table, leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips. Taken by surprise it took Steve a second to react, but then he carefully pulled her toward him, returning the kiss just as gently.

When they separated she merely nodded and gathered the now empty plates, heading toward the kitchen to clean up.

When Steve finally walked into her house that night (using the key she had supplied), it was far later than he anticipated due to a last minute meeting with the governor to discuss the task force then having to man the computer while Danny and Chin apprehended an accomplice of Ganz's, he was unsurprised to find the place dark. Quietly he moved to her bedroom and found her face down on the bed, the covers flung off her body, tank top riding up her side. The visual gave Steve an odd sense of peace he hadn't felt in a long while.

Moving toward her, he pulled the light sheet back over her body, but not before leaning down and, using his cell phone, really looked at the bruise on her side. It was worse than he thought, larger and darker in appearance. Settling the sheet down, Steve checked to make sure the pain pills and a bottle of water were next to her phone before leaving and (after removing his shoes and shirt) settling down again on her shockingly comfortable couch for the night.

He could have easily left her a note and headed home, but he wanted to be there instead. He wanted to be there when she woke up the next morning. In a stunning moment of clarity, Steve realized he wanted to be there when she woke up every morning for the foreseeable future.

* * *

><p>"A hundred bucks?"<p>

Pursing her lips at him she said, "Two." And then smirked; Kono knew Steve McGarrett, and a challenge would never be left alone, especially one like this.

"Two hundred bucks that Eli Manning beats Tom Brady in the SuperBowl?"

"Yup."

That's when Chin decided to speak up from his chair across from her. They were sitting in Steve's living room, waiting patiently for kickoff. "I'd be careful Steve, Cuz has been watching football since she was five. I mean c'mon, the girl does fantasy football."

"I'm feeling confident," Steve replied before staring at her. "Ok, you're on."

Then she winked at him. Winked. And Steve was suddenly a little unsure.

Seated next to Steve on the couch was Danny, Chin and Lori were in chairs across from Kono. Lori had watched their wager with interest; Chin had merely shaken his head when Steve agreed to her number.

And when the first scoring play was a safety by Tom Brady, Steve let out a little moan - Kono just smiled evilly.

When the first half ended, Steve was feeling more confident about his chances, the Patriots had pulled it out before…besides this was Brady.

About that time Lori said her goodbyes, insisting she had plans elsewhere.

Kono watched her walk out the door before turning to the others. "Are we too much for her?" she asked in a concerned tone. For the first half the group had been pretty loud and boisterous, Danny was of course rooting for the Giants, which lead to him and Kono frequently ganging up on Steve.

At several points there had been shouting at the TV, with Kono even standing a few times as the Giants marched toward the end zone.

"No, Cuz. I think she had a date. I overheard something the other day." Chin commented and reached for more chips.

Kono looked at her cousin like he had two heads. "Who plans a _date_ on SuperBowl Sunday?"

He just shrugged. "Not everyone is as insane about football as you are, Kono. And we do have tomorrow off, guaranteed, not even on call. Probably her best shot to get some uninterrupted time with whoever the mystery man is."

Kono just shrugged and got up - picking up several empty beer bottles and taking them into the kitchen. She surveyed the dozen or so already on the counter and called back out into the living room, "Do we need to collect keys here? Steve, you better get the guest room ready."

There was no response and she just shook her head, wandering over to the fridge and (knowing they _could _sleep here if needed and there was still another two hours of game to go) pulled out four new beers.

When she closed the door and turned, Steve was standing directly behind her and Kono was so startled she almost dropped the beers.

"Holy shit, Steve. I nearly-"

Then his lips were on hers, cutting her off and pushing her against the fridge, his fingers just ghosting down the outside of her arms as his lips moved leisurely against hers. Kono's eyes fluttered closed as lips moved across her jaw, leaving a trail of hot kisses.

And, oh God, she wished they were alone. The heat was pooling quickly in her belly and her body felt like it was on fire, desire was practically overtaking her senses, making her forget the rest of their team was in the next room.

As suddenly as he was on her, Steve pulled away, the beers now in his hands. "Second half is about to start."

"I…yeah."

Then his lips were at her ear, whispering, "I was kinda hoping yours would be the only key's I'd be collecting tonight." Then turned and walked into the living room.

Eyes widening in shock at his brazenness, Kono remained pressed against the fridge until he was long gone from the room, she needed a moment to collect herself and cool her overheated body.

Brazen indeed.

When she finally rejoined the group, Steve did nothing but smile at her, which she returned and sat back down in the chair, taking a long drink from the beer on the table in front of her. The rest of the game passed quickly and in the end Kono and Danny had mocked Steve mercilessly and she had gone on at length about what to buy with her two hundred dollars.

Once Danny and Chin decided to go she lingered, offering to help clean up and as Steve bid the other two men goodbye at the door, she carried things into the kitchen, placing them where they needed to go, or if she wasn't sure, on the counter.

As she was washing the plates they had used for the wings, Steve came back into the kitchen and approached her slowly, stopping directly behind her. Kono didn't stop what she was doing or acknowledge his presence.

That didn't last long, however, when his warm hand landed on her upper arm and his lips pressed gently to the skin at the top of her shoulder where her tank didn't cover and heat rushed through her body causing her to pause her washing momentarily before continuing, though at a more erratic pace.

Not deterred by her seeming indifference, Steve's other hand rested on her opposite hip, the tips of his fingers just finding the warm skin between her shorts and tank. Again she stuttered in her washing, but didn't react otherwise.

Until his lips found the nape of her neck, exposed when she had tied her hair in a high ponytail to clean up, then she actually shuddered slightly and Kono could practically feel him smirk against her skin as his lips moved down, kissing the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Her hands stilled and she dropped both the plate and scrubber into the sink.

The hand that had been at her hip slid across her abdomen, pulling her back flush to him.

"Steve…" she whispered, not sure herself if it was mean to encourage or discourage him.

Lips near her ear he spoke quietly, "Just trying to work off the money I owe you."

"Mmmmm….interesting idea," she mumbled as his hand slipped under her tank, sliding over her skin.

"I thought so. That way we both win," he said and slowly spun her around, keeping his hand under her shirt as he did, fingers ghosting over her spine.

Now she shivered in earnest and his lips descended on hers again, more fiercely this time and he pressed his body against hers. She let out a low moan when his tongue pushed between her lips, sweeping against hers.

"Stay," he mumbled as they parted and gasped for air. It wasn't a question; it was a statement, though Kono knew if she said no he would back off and let her go.

Good thing she had no intention of saying no this time. The potential of this – of them - was worth what she knew would be a challenging relationship, because this was Steve McGarrett after all, nothing was simple.

"Stay," he said again and kissed her softly.

As he pulled away she murmured "yes" before kissing him back.

This was where she wanted to be.

END

* * *

><p>Tis the ending and I hope you enjoyed this one as much as the last. The sequel to this one, Undone, will be up in a couple weeks. Here's the bonus part for you guys. I know what the end game of Undone is, but I'm giving you, the lovely readers, an opportunity to give suggestions for scenes or scenarios that you would like to see written. Not entire plots, just…scenes you've been wanting to see. I'll use suggestions that will fit into the plot I already have and give credit when one is used. Feel free to PM.<p>

And don't forget to leave a review, even on the last chapter they are welcome. See you in the next one.


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